Saturday, March 21, 2009

While in Mexico, Weikai and I noticed that most of the trees were painted white near the bottom of their trunks. This reminded me of the trees of my childhood in Arkansas. My Mom used to say that people painted the bottoms of their trees to make them grow better. Our Mexico trip suddenly had me asked, "But why? What exactly makes them grow better?"

So, I figured it out with a little research. There are a few reasons why people paint their tree trunks white:

It helps prevent sun damage to the trunk tissue, especially if the tree has thin bark. The white paint reflects the sun.

It acts as a pesticide, keeping bugs from burrowing into the trunk.

And lastly, many people think that it is aesthetically pleasing and overall more attractive... not sure if I agree yet.

And here's a video I found that talks a little bit more about the best types of paints to use for your trees:

So there you have it! If you have a problematic tree, try painting its trunk white!

Hey Lex! I'm majoring in International Business and Marketing at NYU Stern. I work in the Digital and Buzz Marketing department at NYTimes.com. So, I basically upload content to Facebook, YouTube, and MySpace on the NYTimes pages. I have other duties, but those are some of the most visible things I do! I'll definitely check out your blog! I see in your profile that you like Monty Python; me too!!

now you ask yeah it's true, I remember that when I went to practice surf in Jaco Beach in Costa Rica all the palm trees was painted in the bottons, and now you put the answer, by the way Erica, you look great in that picture grrrrrrr...jajajaja.